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Yellow (song)
Encyclopedia
- For a song with an identical title, see Yellow (Nicholas Tse song).
"Yellow" is a song by English alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band Coldplay
Coldplay
Coldplay are a British alternative rock band formed in 1996 by lead vocalist Chris Martin and lead guitarist Jonny Buckland at University College London. After they formed Pectoralz, Guy Berryman joined the group as a bassist and they changed their name to Starfish. Will Champion joined as a...
. The band wrote the song and co-produced it with British record producer Ken Nelson for their debut album, Parachutes
Parachutes
Parachutes is the debut album by English alternative rock band Coldplay, released by the record label Parlophone on 10 July 2000 in the United Kingdom. The album was produced by the band and British record producer Ken Nelson, excluding one track which was produced by Chris Allison...
(2000). The song's lyrics are a reference to band vocalist Chris Martin
Chris Martin
Christopher Anthony John "Chris" Martin is an English song-writer, who is the lead vocalist, pianist and rhythm guitarist of the band Coldplay. He is married to actress Gwyneth Paltrow.-Early life:...
's unrequited love.
The song was released in June 2000 as the second single off Parachutes, following "Shiver", and the lead single
Lead single
A lead single is usually the first single released by a musician or a band before the release of its home album.During the era of the grammophone record, all music arrived in the marketplace as what is now termed a single, one potential hit song backed by an additional song of generally less...
in the United States. The single reached number four in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
, giving the band their first top-five hit in the United Kingdom. Helped by heavy rotation
Heavy rotation
In broadcasting, rotation is the repeated airing of a limited playlist of songs on a radio station or satellite radio channel, or music videos on a TV network. They are usually in a different order each time, however they are not completely shuffled, so as to avoid playing the same song again too...
and usage in promotions, the song thrust the band into massive popularity. "Yellow" has since been covered by various recording artists worldwide, and remains one of the band's most popular songs.
Background and inspiration
"Yellow" was written in a RockfieldRockfield Studios
Rockfield Studios, near Monmouth in Wales and just outside the village of Rockfield, Monmouthshire are where many of British rock music’s most successful recordings have been made.-History:...
studio in Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
called the Quadrangle, where Coldplay began working on their debut album, Parachutes
Parachutes
Parachutes is the debut album by English alternative rock band Coldplay, released by the record label Parlophone on 10 July 2000 in the United Kingdom. The album was produced by the band and British record producer Ken Nelson, excluding one track which was produced by Chris Allison...
. One night after finishing recording "Shiver", the lead single of the album, the band took a break and went out of the studio. Outside, there were few lights on and the stars in the sky were visible and "just amazing", according to the song's co-producer, Ken Nelson. He told the band to look at the stars, which they did. Vocalist Chris Martin
Chris Martin
Christopher Anthony John "Chris" Martin is an English song-writer, who is the lead vocalist, pianist and rhythm guitarist of the band Coldplay. He is married to actress Gwyneth Paltrow.-Early life:...
was inspired by the sight and the song's main melody
Melody
A melody , also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones which is perceived as a single entity...
, consisting of a chord pattern, popped into his head. At first, Martin did not take it seriously "as he relayed the tune to the rest of the band in his worst Neil Young
Neil Young
Neil Percival Young, OC, OM is a Canadian singer-songwriter who is widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians of his generation...
impersonation voice". Martin has said, "The song had the word 'stars' and that seemed like a word you should sing in a Neil Young voice." The melody "started off a lot slower", according to drummer Will Champion
Will Champion
William "Will" Champion is an English musician and the drummer of rock band Coldplay.-Early life:William Champion was born in Southampton, Hampshire, England, and was brought up in Highfield, Southampton, where his father, Timothy Champion, is a professor of archaeology...
, and it sounded like a Neil Young song. Not long after, despite not taking the song seriously, Martin's idea worked out when he had developed the tempo
Tempo
In musical terminology, tempo is the speed or pace of a given piece. Tempo is a crucial element of any musical composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece.-Measuring tempo:...
of the verse. When guitarist Jonny Buckland
Jonny Buckland
Jonathan Mark "Jonny" Buckland is an English guitarist and musician, best known as the lead guitarist of the band Coldplay.-Early life:...
started playing it and supplemented it with his ideas, they had created the riff
RIFF
The Resource Interchange File Format is a generic file container format for storing data in tagged chunks. It is primarily used to store multimedia such as sound and video, though it may also be used to store any arbitrary data....
, "and it sort of got a bit heavier".
While composing the song's lyrics, however, Martin could not find the right words. He was thinking of a specific word, which he deemed a missing key word in the lyrics, to fit the song's concept. He looked around the studio and found the telephone directory
Telephone directory
A telephone directory is a listing of telephone subscribers in a geographical area or subscribers to services provided by the organization that publishes the directory...
Yellow Pages
Yellow Pages
Yellow Pages refers to a telephone directory of businesses, organized by category, rather than alphabetically by business name and in which advertising is sold. As the name suggests, such directories were originally printed on yellow paper, as opposed to white pages for non-commercial listings...
, which happened to be situated nearest to him. Martin later titled the song "Yellow" as a reference to the directory. He quipped, "In an alternate universe, this song could be called 'Playboy.'" The lyrics progressed from there with the band collaborating. Bassist Guy Berryman
Guy Berryman
Guy Rupert Berryman is a Scottish musician known as the bassist for the groups Coldplay and Apparatjik. Berryman is left-handed but chooses to play the bass right-handed.-Coldplay:...
came up with the opening line "Look at the stars". That night, having quickly composed the song, the band recorded it.
A much different origin of the song was told on the Howard Stern Show in November 2011. Chris Martin explained to Stern that he was impersonating Neil Young while entertaining guests when he came across the first chord of the song, which stuck with him for a bit then in a Neil Young voice he sang "look at the stars". Martin went on to further explain that the word "yellow" has absolutely no meaning what so ever and while writing the rest of the song he tried his best to change yellow to something else since every lyric before yellow made no sense but in the end the word "yellow" just sounded right. Martin also told Stern that through the years depending on the attitude and manner of whoever interviews him, he would make up some story about a song or album titles just to move on to the next question. Martin applauded Stern saying "I like you, Howard, so that's the first time I've ever told anyone the truth behind 'Yellow'."
Recording and production
The band and Nelson produced the track. Nelson was acquainted with the band's music through the former's manager. Nelson's manager gave him a copy of an EP and singleBrothers & Sisters (song)
"Brothers & Sisters" is a song by Coldplay, released as their first single in 1999 following the Safety EP, released a year earlier. It was later re-released as an EP....
by Coldplay, and showed interest in working with them after seeing the band perform live. "Yellow" was initially recorded upstairs in the project studio, basically a demo
Demo (music)
A demo version or demo of a song is one recorded for reference rather than for release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas on tape or disc, and provide an example of those ideas to record labels, producers or other artists...
room in Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
's Parr Street Studios. The track was later mixed
Audio mixing (recorded music)
In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...
in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
.
Nelson and the band encountered problems in producing some aspects of the song. According to Champion, "... it was really difficult to record, because it worked at about five or six different tempo
Tempo
In musical terminology, tempo is the speed or pace of a given piece. Tempo is a crucial element of any musical composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece.-Measuring tempo:...
s. It was a tough choice of choosing which tempo to play, because sometimes it sounded too rushed, and sometimes it sounded as if it was dragging..." The band was trying to get the right tempo, according to Nelson, "because a beat either side of the tempo we picked didn't have the same groove". To improve the song, they recorded this part live and Buckland overdubbed
Overdubbing
Overdubbing is a technique used by recording studios to add a supplementary recorded sound to a previously recorded performance....
his guitar. They recorded it two or three times until Nelson and the band were happy at the output. The backing vocals were recorded in the control room of Quadrangle.
Nelson used an analogue 2-inch type tape in recording most of the tracks in the album. As recording progressed, "Yellow" was one of a couple of songs that they "couldn't quite get on analogue". They recorded different versions but it did not satisfy their taste. So Nelson used Pro Tools
Pro Tools
Pro Tools is a digital audio workstation platform for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X operating systems, developed and manufactured by Avid Technology. It is widely used by professionals throughout the audio industries for recording and editing in music production, film scoring, film, and television...
"to get the feel of [the track] just right"; once all takes were recorded into the computer, "we then put it down to the 2-inch, which I found was a great way to do it", according to Nelson.
Composition
The song opens with an acoustic guitarAcoustic guitar
An acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
part, backed by a mimicking electric guitar
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
, then forwards to the lead guitar line. It then goes back to the acoustic section. "Yellow" features Martin's falsetto, and nearly spoken-word whispers. Martin, after the song's mixing, felt that his voice was "too subdued, too quiet".
Martin has explained of the song: "'Yellow' refers to the mood of the band. Brightness and hope and devotion." The references in some of the song's lyrics, including the swimming and drawing a line, "are all metaphorical slants on the extent of his emotional devotion". The drawing of a line refers to Martin's habit of writing lists, and underlining those important things on the list. Martin has commented that the song is about devotion, referring to his unrequited love (Martin was single at the time he wrote the song). Despite its lyrical theme, however, most people have considered "Yellow" as a happy song.
Release and reception
"Yellow" and "Shiver" were initially released as EPExtended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
s in the spring of 2000. The former was later released as a single in UK on 26 June 2000. The single includes the songs "Help Is Round the Corner" and "No More Keeping My Feet on the Ground", the third taken from the band's first EP, Safety. In the United States, however, the song was released as the lead single
Lead single
A lead single is usually the first single released by a musician or a band before the release of its home album.During the era of the grammophone record, all music arrived in the marketplace as what is now termed a single, one potential hit song backed by an additional song of generally less...
off the album. In October 2000, the track was sent to US college
Campus radio
Campus radio is a type of radio station that is run by the students of a college, university or other educational institution. Programming may be exclusively by students, or may include programmers from the wider community in which the radio station is based...
and alternative radio outlets. The band released a limited-edition CD of "Trouble", the third single off Parachutes, which features a remix of "Yellow". It was pressed to 1,000 copies, and was issued only to fans and journalists.
The single, accompanied by its TV reception through its music video, received massive radio airplay, particularly at BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
. The reaction was chiefly positive and even the newly-revitalized BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio stations and the most popular station in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult Contemporary or AOR, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres...
played the track repeatedly. This heavy rotation
Heavy rotation
In broadcasting, rotation is the repeated airing of a limited playlist of songs on a radio station or satellite radio channel, or music videos on a TV network. They are usually in a different order each time, however they are not completely shuffled, so as to avoid playing the same song again too...
continued for months after its release, eventually ending as 2000's most-aired song. It has also became a sing-along number at various British clubs, pubs and sporting events; the song is consistently played during home games at English Championship club Watford
Watford F.C.
Watford Football Club is an English professional football club based in Watford, Hertfordshire. It is often referred to as Watford F.C., Watford, or by the team's nickname The Hornets . Watford Rovers, Founded in 1881, entered the FA Cup for the first time in 1886, and the Southern League a decade...
. A month after the album was released in the United States via record label Nettwerk, "Yellow" was used as the theme song for ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
autumn television promotions. The song was also used as the theme music for The Cancer Council Australia's "Daffodil Day", in recognition of that organization's official flower's yellow hue.
The song was well-received from critics. Matt Diehl of Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
magazine has noted "Yellow" is "unrepentantly romantic", adding that "the band creates a hypnotic slo-mo otherworld where spirit rules supreme". "Yellow" won Best Single at the 2001 NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
Carling Awards. It was nominated at the 2002 Grammy Awards for Best Rock Song
Grammy Award for Best Rock Song
The Grammy Award for Best Rock Song is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality songs in the rock music genre...
and Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal
Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal
The Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal was awarded between 1980 and 2011.The award was discontinued after the 2011 award season in a major overhaul of Grammy categories...
. Billboard said that "every time that electric-guitar riff barges in, you're hooked all over again." In August 2009 the song was listed at #263 on Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
's "Top 500 songs of the 2000's". In October 2011, NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
placed it at number 139 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years".
Chart performance
"Yellow" played well in Europe, and was popular. In the United Kingdom, its midweek sales suggested that the single would reach the Top 10 of the chart. Although the band supposed "Yellow" would decline inside the Top 20, they would have considered its performance a triumph since the album's lead single, "Shiver", had only reached the 35th position. Since "Yellow"'s second week sales were stronger, it eventually reached number four, giving the band their first Top 10 single in the United Kingdom. The popularity of the song in British clubs, pubs and sporting events bolstered the album to debut at number one on the UK Albums ChartUK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
.
"Yellow" achieved popularity in the United States, and was Coldplay's first American hit. The single charted on eight different Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
singles charts; it also topped various US modern-rock radio playlists in the spring of 2001. The single performed as it did in Europe and has helped Parachutes be certified gold
RIAA certification
In the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America awards certification based on the number of albums and singles sold through retail and other ancillary markets. Other countries have similar awards...
by the Recording Industry Association of America
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
during the single's stay on the chart.
After Coldplay's appearance at Sound Relief
Sound Relief
Sound Relief was a multi-venue rock music concert held on 14 March 2009, which was announced by the Premier of Victoria, John Brumby on 24 February 2009...
in Australia, In the charting week starting 22 March 2009, the single made a return to the Australian ARIA Top 50, after almost eight years since its last appearance in the Top 50. It re-entered the chart at number 48.
Music video
Studland
Studland is a small village on the Isle of Purbeck in the English county of Dorset. It is famous for its beaches and nature reserve. In 2001 Studland had a population of 480, the lowest in 50 years...
in the county of Dorset, South West England
South West England
South West England is one of the regions of England defined by the Government of the United Kingdom for statistical and other purposes. It is the largest such region in area, covering and comprising Bristol, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Dorset, Wiltshire, Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. ...
. The video is minimalistic, featuring only Martin singing the song as he walks along the beach. He is seen wearing a raincoat with his hair wet, suggesting that it had just rained. The video is one continuous shot with no cuts. The entire sequence is in slow motion.
It was conceived and produced by Coldplay. Originally, it had been intended for the whole band to appear in the video, in a sunny setting. However, Champion's mother's funeral was held on the day of the shooting, so it was decided that only Martin would appear in the video, which was also the immediate explanation of his mood during this part. The weather also opposed the original plan, with harsh winds and rain instead of the sunny day that had been envisioned. It had also been originally intended for there to be moving stars in the sky, as if in a time-lapse. The directors however agreed that the moving stars would distract the focus of the video from Martin. The plan of time advancing was still kept, however. The video begins with the beach being somewhat dark until sunlight arrives nearly at the video's midway point.
The video was directed by British directing duo James Frost & Alex of The Artists Company. It was shot at 50 frames per second, twice the regular speed. At the shoot, Chris Martin had to sing the song at double speed so that the audio and visual content would be in sync, a common yet difficult practice of music videos. The final product is slowed to 25 frames per second, giving the slow motion effect of the video. The transition of the video from night to day was achieved during the telecine
Telecine
Telecine is transferring motion picture film into video and is performed in a color suite. The term is also used to refer to the equipment used in the post-production process....
process. During the transfer from film to videotape, an operator manually adjusted the amount of lighting for blue in the beginning, red in the middle, and yellow at the end of the video.
Live performances
Glastonbury Festival
The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts, commonly abbreviated to Glastonbury or even Glasto, is a performing arts festival that takes place near Pilton, Somerset, England, best known for its contemporary music, but also for dance, comedy, theatre, circus, cabaret and other arts.The...
, one of the prominent festivals in Europe. During their second appearance in July 2000, Coldplay performed "Yellow" and "effortlessly" captured over 10,000 spectators. Coldplay's popularity at this time was still growing and "Yellow" has helped cultivate it; Martin has said it was the best day of their year. When this song is performed at concerts, large yellow balloons are dropped on the audience. The first known sighting of yellow balloons at a Coldplay concert can be dated back to 24 September 2002 at the UIC Pavilion, in Chicago, Illinois during the song "Yellow". Chris Martin noticed the balloons in the air with a surprised look. Now, the balloons are filled with confetti, and at the end of the song Chris Martin pops one with his guitar and confetti flies everywhere.
Coldplay performed the song at the 'Celebrating Steve' event at the Apple campus on October 16, 2011. Before the performance, Martin revealed that they first played it for Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs
Steven Paul Jobs was an American businessman and inventor widely recognized as a charismatic pioneer of the personal computer revolution. He was co-founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Apple Inc...
10 years ago, Jobs said the song was "shit" and that "they would never make it".
Covers and versions
"Yellow" has been covered by numerous singers worldwide, some in different languages and styles. A Chinese languageChinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
version of "Yellow" was recorded by Chinese rock singer Zheng Jun
Zheng Jun
Zheng Jun is Chinese rock music singer. Originally from Xi'an, he attended university in Hangzhou. His first album, entitled Naked , was released by Red Star Productions in 1993, achieving immediate success...
in 2001, six months after the original release of the single. Singaporean singer Tanya Chua
Tanya Chua
Tanya Chua is a Golden Melody Award-winning Singaporean singer and songwriter.-Music career:A former business administration student at Singapore Polytechnic, Chua started out singing in English, releasing her first English album, Bored, in 1997...
covered the song. The cover band
Cover band
A cover band , is a band that plays mostly or exclusively cover songs. New or unknown bands often find the cover band format marketable for smaller gigs, and these bands may be known as a wedding band, party band and function band. A band whose covers consist mainly of songs that were chart hits is...
and comedy act
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
Richard Cheese and Lounge Against the Machine
Richard Cheese and Lounge Against the Machine
Mark Jonathan Davis , known by his stage name Richard Cheese, is an American musician and comedian. He was born in New York...
covered this as a Lounge
Lounge music
Lounge music is a retrospective description of music popular in the 1950s and 1960s. It is a type of mood music meant to evoke in the listeners the feeling of being in a place — a jungle, an island paradise, outer space, et cetera — other than where they are listening to it...
style version on his 2004 album I'd Like a Virgin
I'd Like a Virgin
I'd Like a Virgin is the third album from Richard Cheese, released April 20, 2004. The album title and artwork are take-offs of Madonna's 1984 album, Like a Virgin...
. The song has also been performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra is a British orchestra based in London. It tours widely, and is sometimes referred to as "Britain's national orchestra"...
. American musicians Petra Haden
Petra Haden
Petra Haden is an American violinist and singer. She is or has been a member of several bands, including That Dog, Tito & Tarantula, and The Decemberists; has contributed to recordings by The Twilight Singers, Beck, Mike Watt, Luscious Jackson, Foo Fighters, Green Day, Queens of the Stone Age,...
and Bill Frisell
Bill Frisell
William Richard "Bill" Frisell is an American guitarist and composer.One of the leading guitarists in jazz since the late 1980s, Frisell's eclectic music touches on progressive folk, classical music, country music, noise and more...
covered the song, featuring it in their album Petra Haden and Bill Frisell; the cover appears in episode 3.08 of the The O.C.
The O.C.
The O.C. is an American teen drama television series that originally aired on the Fox television network in the United States from August 5, 2003, to February 21, 2007, running a total of four seasons...
. In 2006, Tre Lux
Tré Lux
Tre Lux is the solo trip hop project of Tina Root, the vocalist of Switchblade Symphony.-A Strange Gathering:Her first full-length album, A Strange Gathering, was released September 19, 2006...
covered "Yellow" on the cover album A Strange Gathering. Fame Academy
Fame Academy
Fame Academy is a televised competition to search for and educate new musical talents. The winner received a chance to become a successful music artist. The prize consisted of a £1m recording contract with a major record company, plus the use of a luxury apartment in London and a sports car for one...
winner Alex Parks
Alex Parks
Alex Parks is an English singer-songwriter. She is best known for winning Fame Academy in 2003, for her singles, and for the albums, Introduction and Honesty.-Biography:...
often performed "Yellow" and a cover appears on her debut album. English vocal troupe G4
G4 (band)
G4 were a four-piece British vocal troupe who first came to prominence when they finished second in ITV's talent show The X Factor in 2004. The members met at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, from which the name G4, standing for "Guildhall 4", derives.-The X Factor:G4 auditioned for the...
covered the song for their second album, G4 & Friends
G4 & Friends
G4 and Friends is the second album released by X Factor group, G4. It entered at #6 in the UK charts with first week sales of 97,100. The album includes the band singing with guest stars Cliff Richard, Lesley Garrett and Robin Gibb.- Track listing :...
, with "unique harmonies". American singer-writer Brooke White
Brooke White
Brooke Elizabeth White is an American indie pop/folk-pop singer-songwriter and actress from Mesa, Arizona who was the fifth place finalist on the seventh season of American Idol. In 2005, White released her first studio album, called Songs from the Attic.White's first post-Idol album High Hopes &...
covered "Yellow" on her 2006 album Songs from the Attic. White's manager directed her to cover American hard rock band Aerosmith
Aerosmith
Aerosmith is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "The Bad Boys from Boston" and "America's Greatest Rock and Roll Band". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based hard rock, has come to also incorporate elements of pop, heavy metal, and rhythm and blues, and has inspired many...
's 1973 single "Dream On
Dream On (Aerosmith song)
"Dream On" is the first single by Aerosmith from their 1973 debut album, Aerosmith. Written by lead singer Steven Tyler, this blues-influenced power ballad became their first major hit and classic rock radio staple...
", but she wanted to do "Yellow". Since they had contradicting ideas, they compromised and ended up producing cover versions of the two. In 2009, Jem
Jem (singer)
Jemma Griffiths , better known as Jem, is a Welsh singer-songwriter. Her debut album, Finally Woken, includes elements of rock, new wave-styled electronica and trip-hop...
performed a cover of "Yellow" for Starbucks Entertainment's Valentine's Day compilation Sweetheart: Our Favorite Artists Sing Their Favorite Love Songs.
The song has also been covered in live performances by various artists. Sara Bareilles gave a movingly heartfelt rendition of her "all-time favorite song" at the iheartradio event in January 2011. The progressive bluegrass
Progressive bluegrass
Progressive bluegrass is one of two major subgenres of bluegrass music. It is also known as newgrass, a term attributed to New Grass Revival member Ebo Walker. Musicians and bands John Hartford, New Grass Revival, J.D. Crowe and the New South, The Dillards, Boone Creek, Country Gazette, and the...
trio Nickel Creek
Nickel Creek
Nickel Creek was an American progressive acoustic music trio consisting of Chris Thile , Sara Watkins and Sean Watkins . The band was founded in 1989 and released 6 albums between 1993 and 2006...
has played "Yellow" in the middle of "The Lighthouse's Tale
The Lighthouse's Tale
"The Lighthouse's Tale" is a song by progressive bluegrass band Nickel Creek, taken from their debut album, Nickel Creek, released in 2001.-Single details:...
" at their concerts. Boyce Avenue an acoustic rock band from Florida covered "Yellow" in their album entitled "Influential Sessions". Galway-based musicians Joe Joyce
Joe Joyce
Joseph "Joe" Joyce is an English former footballer and currently appointed Academy Manager at Newcastle United.-Playing career:...
and Oisin Tierney have been known to cover "Yellow" as part of their performances, and American band The Almost
The Almost
The Almost is an American alternative rock band from Clearwater, Florida, formed in 2005, and is most notable for being the side project of former Underoath drummer, Aaron Gillespie.-History:...
has often covered "Yellow" at their live shows. American alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band Brand New
Brand New
Brand New is an American rock band from Long Island, New York. Formed in 2000, the band currently consists of vocalist/guitarist/lyricist Jesse Lacey, guitarist/vocalist/lyricist Vincent Accardi, bassist Garrett Tierney, drummer Brian Lane, and guitarist/keyboardist Derrick Sherman.In the late...
often covers part of the song live at the end of their song "The Boy Who Blocked His Own Shot". The X Factor
The X Factor (UK)
The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. Created by Simon Cowell, it began in September 2004 and is contested by aspiring singers drawn from public auditions. It is the originator of the international X Factor franchise. The seven series of the show to date...
2008 contestant Diana Vickers
Diana Vickers
Diana Vickers is an English singer-songwriter, stage actress and fashion designer who initially came to public attention as a semi-finalist on the fifth series of British talent show The X Factor in 2008...
covered the song for 'Best of British week'. During their 2010 tour, Limp Bizkit have also covered the song regularly live. U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
performed "Yellow" live at Glastonbury Festival 2011
Glastonbury Festival 2011
The 2011 Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts was held from 22–26 June 2011. Tickets for the festival went on sale from 9 am on Sunday 3 October 2010, over 37 weeks before the festival was set to begin, with a deposit of £50 being paid, while the whole cost of a ticket is £195...
.
Impact and legacy
Brian Hiatt of Rolling StoneRolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
magazine has deemed the song a career-making record. Roach has claimed in his book, Coldplay: Nobody Said It Was Easy, that although "Shiver" earned the band their debut UK Top 40 single, it was "Yellow" that has changed "everything", and that it "exemplifies so much of what had made Coldplay so popular". In the US, after it was being used in promos of ABC, the band grew in popularity which continued in 2001. According to Barry Walters in his review of Coldplay's second album, A Rush of Blood to the Head, for Spin
Spin (magazine)
Spin is a music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione Jr.-History:In its early years, the magazine was noted for its broad music coverage with an emphasis on college-oriented rock music and on the ongoing emergence of hip-hop. The magazine was eclectic and bold, if sometimes haphazard...
magazine, the band is still known in the United States for their "surprise smash 'Yellow'". A Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
magazine review said, "After one single ('Yellow') and its accompanying album (Parachutes ... ), Coldplay have already been anointed heir to the Brit-rock throne." The song has since been regarded as the centerpiece track on the album.
Track listing
- "Yellow" – 4:29
- "Help Is Round the Corner" – 2:38
- "No More Keeping My Feet on the Ground" (From the Safety EP) – 4:33
Charts
| Chart (2000–01) | Peak Position |
|---|---|
| Australian ARIA Singles Chart ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
5 |
| France Singles Chart Syndicat National de l'Edition Phonographique The Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique is the inter-professional organization which protects the interests of the French record industry... |
96 |
| Irish Singles Chart Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured... |
9 |
| New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart | 23 |
| Polish Singles Chart | 14 |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
4 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
48 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks | 6 |